The Fabulous Moolah

The Fabulous Moolah was born Mary Lillian Ellison on July 22nd 1923 outside of Coulumbia, SC. When Moolah was 8 years old, her mother passed away so she was sent to live with her grandmother. To help her get over the death, her father would take her to local pro wrestling show. Moolah became hooked when she saw the 1st ever Womens World Champion Mildred Burke. At the age of 14, Moolah got married and gave birth to a daughter. At the age of 15, she filed for divorce and left town to pursue her wrestling carrer. She convinced Burke's husband Billy Wolfe, who was the top womens wrestling promoter st the time, to have Burke train her. On May 26th 1949, Moolah made her debut by defeating future Womens Champion June Byers. She soon after had a falling out with Wolfe after he tried to get her to do sexual favors for another promoter, an act that was common for women wrestler's during that time period. She began dating wrestler Johnny Long. Long introduced her to a promoter named Jack Pfeffer, who gave her the name Slave Girl Moolah and made her the valet of "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. Moolah and Rogers split after Pfeffer attempted to force them into a romantic relationship. Moohlah then began managing The Elephant Boy, who was a Hispanic wrestler that had dark skin, so many people thought he was black. It caused alot of controversy when Moolah would kiss him on the cheek before his matches. During one show in Oaklahoma, a fan became so enraged she kissed him, that he attempted to stab her. In 1955, she joined Vince McMahhon Sr's Capitol Wrestling Cororation, which was a NWA affliate at the time. In 1956, she won a woman battle royal to become Womens World Champion, a reign that lasted for over 8 years. The NWA refused to reconize her as champion until 1964. The reason is because Billy Wolfe, whom she had a falling out with years before, was the top promoter in the NWA. Wolfe was said to have black mailed his way to the top by threatening to reveal that matches were pre-planned. If any promoter refused to listen to his order's. On July 1st 1972, after lobbying the New York Athletic Commission to lift thier ban on womens pro wrestling, Moohlah became the 1st woman to wrestle at Madision Square Garden. In the late 1970's, Moolah bought the rights to the Womens World Championship. She lost the title on 1978, but regained it 2 days later. She would remain champion for 6 more years. In 1983, Moolah sold the right's to the title to Vince McMahon Sr, thus becoming the 1st ever WWF Womens World Champion. She was billed as having held on to the title for 28 years and being the longest reigning champion in professional sports history. In 1984, she lost the title to Windi Ritcher as part of angle for the Rock N Wrestling Connection publicity stunt. In November of 1985 Ritcher's WWF contract expired and she held the title hostage, demading more money to renew her contract. Vince McMahon Jr. came up with a plan. He had Moolah dress up like another female wrester named Spider Lady and wrestle Ritcher. During the match Moolah wouldnt sell Ritcher's moves, which pissed her off. Moolah managed to get a quick pin on Ritcher to regain the title. After the match, she unmasked and Ritcher attempted to attack her legit but Moolah again refused to sell for Ritcher. Moolah would keep the title for another 2 years before going into semi-retirement. On June 24th 1995, The Fabulous Moolah became the 1st female to ever be inducted into the WWF Hall Of Fame. In 1998, Pat Patterson joked with her about returning to the ring, which sparked her intrest so she contacted Vince Jr. to see if it would be possible. In October of 1999, Moolah made her return to WWF by being smashed over the head with Jeff Jarrett's guitar on SmackDown. On October 17 1999, Moolah once again made history by defeating Ivory to once again regain the WWF Womens Championship at the age of 76. She became a regular on WWF programing over the next 8 years along with her longtime best friend Mae Young. On her 80th Birthday, Moolah became the oldest person to ever wrestle in a WWE ring by having a match on RAW. Moolah made her last WWE appearence in August of 2007 at SummerSlam during a segment with Vince McMahon Jr. & then RAW General Manager William Regal. On November 2nd 2007, The Fabulous Moolah passed away at home in her sleep. Over her lifetime, Moolah accomplished more than any wrester in history, male or female. She is reconized as the lonegest reigning champion in history. Many historians dispute that fact that Moolah lost the Womens World Championship due to thier being no proof. They claim her reign lasted from 1956 to 1984 for a total of 28 years. In all she was champion for nearly 32 years. A feat that noone will ever achieve again.